Cyanide is a readily available poison which is extremely dangerous and often fatal when consumed in relatively small dosages. The presence of cyanide in foods is difficult to detect since it does not possess an easily noticeable color. At low doses and in the presence of other flavors, cyanide may not be detected by its bitter almond odor.
Packaging devices have been provided which warn a consumer of potential tampering or adulteration of the packaged products. These systems generally involve a physical modification of the package such as the presence of a plastic seal which when broken indicates tampering. However, if the warning signal given by the package is overlooked by the consumer or circumvented by the tamperer such as by injection, the consumer would still ingest the cyanide-laced product.
Sugars or saccharides are frequently added to food. Among the most commonly used sugar additives are glucose and fructose. Other edible sugars, including xylose, ribose, arabinose, glyceraldehyde and erythrose, are occasionally found in or added to food.
For example, Ogawa (Japanese Patent No. Sho 82-55382) describes a method for preparing chewing gum which utilizes xylose reacted with an amino acid and blended at a temperature of at least 100.degree. C., to produce Maillard reaction products for improved flavor. Ogawa teaches flavor impairment if the level of the Maillard reaction product exceeds 2%, although a level of up to 5% is also mentioned.
Yamada (Japanese Patent No. Sho 71-41598) discloses improved taste, color and fragrance of alcoholic beverages by adding a minor amount of xylose instead of glucose. Yamada teaches a maximum concentration of 3% weight per volume for xylose.
Andrews (U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,716) discloses the use of tetroses, pentoses and hexoses having two "hydroxyl groups in the cis position on the 2,3 carbons" of the ring structures, particularly erythrose, ribose, allose and gulose. These sugars are added at a concentration between about 0.0005% and 0.001% to retard the oxidation of food compounds. Andrews reports that arabinose or xylose are ineffective in retarding oxidation and that glyceraldehyde accelerates oxidation.
Sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide are commercially available and extremely poisonous compounds. Death may occur in the presence of only 50 milligrams of sodium or potassium cyanide in food products. Individual responses to cyanide poisoning vary widely. Some persons have survived doses of more than three grams. Once cyanide is ingested, it must be absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream and thence into the body tissues where it poisons cell respiration. Cyanide is one of the most rapidly acting poisons: victims have died within minutes of exposure. Rapid treatment using appropriate antidotes, such as amyl nitrite (C.sub.5 H.sub.11 ONO), greatly increases the chance for survival.
Lower doses of cyanide allow more time for successful treatment to begin, sometimes more than one hour. Thus, there may be some benefit to reducing the level of cyanide ingested even though the dosage may still be lethal without treatment. In addition detoxification of cyanide in the gut would prevent absorption of and ill effects from cyanide.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to add an ingestible component to foods, drugs and other oral compositions which will reduce toxicity due to cyanide adulteration.